In a typical afternoon in Luang Prabang, we walked along a narrow street parallel to the embankment near the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. To our left, Wat Xieng Thong welcomed us with a serene and almost solitary atmosphere. Monks in bright […]
Indonesia. A country of 17,000 islands, 240 million people and series of volcanoes – some are of the deadliest in history. Volcanoes have always played a vital role in the archipelago, and will always do. Their eruptions brought demise to some civilizations, but also a […]
I carefully opened the curtain, peeked out the window and sighed. The day didn’t look too promising. Clouds were hanging over the sky, casting a dim grey hue from above. But it was so quiet, so peaceful. No honking, only a faint noise from nearby […]
It was Sunday morning in Vientiane. After a two-day sojourn in the Lao capital, our affection for the city started to grow. But we knew it was time for us to continue our journey to the north, where the world-famous town of Luang Prabang is […]
Long before I made my way to Laos I had heard and read about how laid-back the country was. Officially Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), or affectionately Please Don’t Rush, the country did give a very strong impression that we should really not rush into […]
Last week I returned from a wonderful trip to Laos with James. We flew from Jakarta and Hong Kong respectively and met in Kuala Lumpur to catch the flight to Vientiane on the following day. That gave us enough time to wander around the Malaysian […]
If you think this is a post about food or culinary thing, this is not. You can stop reading now. No, I’m kidding. Please continue reading but when I said that this is not a post about food, I mean it (I thought some of […]
Just a stopover city was my initial thought about Medan. With more than two million residents, Medan is Indonesia’s fourth largest city and the nation’s largest city outside Java. Had it not been due to my visit to Lake Toba, I wouldn’t have intended to […]
Simanindo, a small village at the northern part of Samosir Island, was the last place that I visited on a trip to Samosir’s historical and cultural places. When I parked the motorbike at Huta Bolon Simanindo, I could hear some traditional music instruments were being […]
Ambarita, a sleepy village 10 km north from Tomok was the second historical site which Robin and I visited on Samosir Island. We turned right as soon as we noticed a signboard which reads Batu Parsidangan on the main road. Then we navigated our way […]
Legend has it that King Sidabutar was the first man ever set his foot on Samosir Island. Later on he and his descendants resides in an area which is now known as the small town of Tomok, 5 km south of Tuk Tuk. Before the […]
North Sumatra, especially around Lake Toba and Samosir Island, has been known as the place where Batak people, or simply Bataks, come from and flourish. Physically, Bataks are quite different from other western Indonesians (although to foreign eyes they all look the same). They have […]
What an Amazing World! 